The three-year-old as, I said before, is now doing really well both at home and in his new daycare. He is getting particularly good at recognizing letters. I was watching him “read” his truck book with my nine-year-old son. The three-year-old is doing a great job at pointing out all the colours and finding letters he knows. And son number one is actually quite impressed with how well son number two is doing.

Wow, you’re doing a great job!

I know. I so good. <giggle>

The nine-year-old isn’t much better. He’s been privy to the conversations with the vision therapist who would say to me things like “Have you ever had his IQ tested? He is really smart. I might even call him gifted-disabled” Of course, that was BEFORE the fabulous results from vision therapy, so he’s probably all gifted now.

Now, to understand the nine-year-old you have to go back with me to a time when he was about four. This was the truck phase. While travelling in the car, we had to point out every truck and tractor that would pass us. One day, I pointed out a large piece of machinery and said to him

Look at the tractor!

With a voice full of disdain I was informed

Mom, that’s a digger.

(You have speak slowly and use an upward inflection at the back end and your inner monologue has to go something like “How stupid is this person, driving me around, incorrectly identifying large machinery? I mean. Gawd”). What I’m trying to get across here, is that he’s always been something of a know-it-all.

At the last parent-teacher interviews this know-it-allness of his came up yet again. So, I’ve been trying to have something of a conversation around it. I was trying to get across the idea, that he needed to consider that sometimes he might not be correct, and it would be better to have a conversation about things rather than an I’m right, you’re wrong kind of discussion (which I guess is really much more of a lecture or monologue than a discussion, but you get the idea–see, YOU get the idea.)

After school the other day, this is the proclamation from my son.

You know, it’s hard to be gifted. It gets you into trouble once a day.

But it doesn’t end there, oh no. He goes on.

You know it got Jesus into trouble too. Like that time in the temple when his parents didn’t know where he was.

So, to all his teachers past and present, girlfriends of the future and those people who will still be his friend even when he would rather be right than be in a relationship, I’m sorry. I tried.

2 Responses to Self-esteem? Check!

Either this child will be a Middle-Management / Accountant / Corporate Lawyer type, or he’ll be a Theatre Actor / Director. All of those are under the impression that they’re the Son (or Daughter) of God.

A couple of them think they’re Jesus
One of them must be wrong
— Mark Knopfler (1949– )

Obviously, however, even if they are correct about being the Offspring of Her, God really is the Arts Club Tour Manager / Para-Legal / Stage Manager [choose one only]

WELCOME TO MY PRECARIOUSLY BALANCED UNIVERSE…

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